DIGIMON 02: Crimson Butterfly Edition
by Lilith Tsutomo
Summary: Ken takes a week off of chores and school, along with his friends to help relieve his stress. However, their destination does not offer relaxation as promised. Frightening apparitions, ghastly laughter, and an odd twin, but there's something else waiting.


Note: I do not own Digimon or the characters. The only character I own is Ichiro, but barely that...It's a long story. You'll have to read the chapter. Alright, in case you didn't know, I based this fanfic off of the new survivor/horror game, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. I don't own that, either. If you have played Crimson Butterfly, you'll notice that a few things in this fanfic are surprisingly familiar, but with a little different plot. If you haven't play it, you really need to, because it's a great game and perfect for giving you the chills. Now, I'm gonna ask everyone to bear with me here, because this is my first ever attempt at a horror type fic. Anyway, stop with the blabbering and on with the show!

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Episode One:

Here We Are

"Oh, no, Dear. I think we've gotten lost again. Should we check the map?"

"Nonsense, Molly. I know what I'm doing. This hotel is supposed to be well known. How could we _possibly _be lost?"

"We've been on the road for ten hours now, Cal! My legs are cramped, the children are probably starving, and we haven't checked the map since our last pit stop!"

_We've been on the road since six in the morning. How far away can this resort possibly be?_ Ken stared absentmindedly through the van window. He watched as they passed various fields of young spring produce that waited to be harvested in the summer. The destination: The Woods of Kuro Majick. A supposedly _wonderful_ hotel resort with some sort of _spooky_ past about the weird forest; that was Ken's view of it, anyway.

"This place is farther away than I thought." Ken heard little Iori Hida behind him. He leaned forward and rested his small arms and head on the back of Ken's seat. "Did it happen to say how long this would take?"

"It doesn't really matter, does it?" Bossy, plucky Miyako Inou answered Iori. "I mean, just think; when we get there we can all unpack and enjoy the beautiful place!" Her eyes suddenly sparkled as she clasped her hands together. "They have suits, a pool, a spa, a buffet-"

"Yeah! _And, _let's not forget the cool Kuro Woods themselves!" The loud, brash Daisuke made himself heard. "It's supposed to be the scariest place around here!"

"I was talking first, loser!" Miyako shouted into his ear since she had the courtesy to be seated right next to him. 

"Back off, Big Mouth! Think you can close it? I think enough trash has spilled out of it today!" Daisuke retorted, making a rude face at her. He still had his hands over his ears from the earsplitting shrillness of the lavender head's voice.

"Why you...!" Miyako proceeded to grasping and pulling hard on Daisuke's spiked maroon hair that stuck out at odd angles and was perfectly easy to take hold of.

"Knock it off, you two!" Takeru had risen his voice to be heard over the loud brawlers behind him. "There's not enough room in the van for that!" Noticing that neither of them had heard a single word, Takeru irately added, "I'm surprised Mister and Misses Ichijouji haven't kicked you both out of the van by now!" but it was all to no avail. Daisuke continued to scream in Miyako's face, and Miyako proceeded to pulling on Daisuke's hair some more, actually ripping out a few good chunks.

Hikari was seated in between Takeru and Ken, her headphones on, not paying attention to anything outside her own music. Her slim fingers rapped on the CD player to the beat of whatever song happened to be playing.

Ken felt so jealous that she didn't have to listen to all the racket that his fists were clenched in his lap. _What did I do to deserve this?_ he thought crossly. As the car turned right, following the road, Ken was suddenly blinded by the sun that had been waiting for him. It didn't take long before he grew fairly uncomfortable in his seat as the sun shone through the window, making the van's atmosphere sweltering hot, especially for Ken.

"Dad, can you turn on the air conditioner, please?" Ken croaked, unable to keep his voice fixed and proper.

"Coolant's on it's way, Ken," sang his father. He clicked the air on and threw the little toggle down to it's coldest rank.

Ken leaned forward to grasp the back of his father's seat, just like Iori, and practically flung his head forward so he could be as close as he could to the air vent. "Aw, dear, are you really hot?" Molly cooed to her son. She patted him on the head lovingly, then returned her attention to the road, unfolding the map, ignoring her husband's protests. 

Ken sat there for a long while, getting as much cool air as he could, all the while trying to replay the events of yesterday, the day that brought all this upon him: 

It was the last class before lunchtime, in Mr. Shibata's science room. While Mr. Shibata gave his daily lesson, Ken's mind was lost outside in the pure blue sky. The wind was light and the clouds were thin and wispy. Why couldn't he be out there instead of tapped inside?

"...and the vast amounts of their species come to _full_ adulthood at around the springtime. And what a beautiful display they put on in the sky. Then, you know, is the greatest time to-Mister Ichijouji, are you paying attention at all? _Ichijouji!_"

"Wha-yes?" Ken stood up quickly, recovering from an daydreaming moment through the window. Everyone could tell he'd been out of reality for at least a half an hour; his deep blue eyes still held an out-of-focus appearance.

"Well, I'm glad you could grace us with your presence again, Mister Ichijouji. I trust you have been writing down notes while you were in your wonderland?" the sharp-tongued Mr. Shibata inquired. The class then proceeded to make tiny outbursts of giggles. 

Ken turned red and groaned to himself. After making a subtle apology he retook his seat and hung his head so that his indigo blue hair would block his face from everyone's sight. _Not again... _he thought despairingly to himself.

After the bell rang, ending class, Ken gathered up his belongings, including his half-done pile of notes, and proceeded to the door where the rest of his classmates filed out quickly to get to lunch before the line grew too long. Just as he reached the doorway, he felt a stern hand on his shoulder; he gulped. "Wait a second, Ken. I want to talk to you about something." Mr. Shibata had caught him at the last minute. Ken made a face to himself, for he knew that a long talk awaited him.

"I'm not going to scold you, Ken, but I _do _want to know if everything's alright." Mr. Shibata sat Ken down in front of his desk while he took his own seat behind it. "I've noticed that you've been spacing out other times in my class besides today, and the other teachers tell me you've been having your own little fantasy trips in their classes as well. Is something wrong?"

"N-no," Ken replied slowly. "I've just...been out of focus lately, that's all. Really, Sir."

"Any reason?" he pressed, gazing at Ken intently, as though trying to read his mind. "Your grades have been slipping, Ken. We're all getting concerned, especially your parents." He then laughed kindly. "We don't want our little genius to fall behind, do we?"

Ken felt indignation rise into his chest. He stood up quickly, almost knocking the chair to the ground; it wobbled riskily. "I _don't _need a psychiatric consultant, Sir! I'm well aware that my grades aren't top notch, like you all expect out of me, but I just _don't care anymore!_" The boy instantly felt his own breath catch in his chest; shame washed over him like a tidal wave. Mr. Shibata was still staring at him, but with more apprehension now; one of his eyebrows twitched. "I-I-I'm sorry, Mister Shibata," Ken lowered his head, his mind spinning with guilt and frustration. "I didn't mean that. I'm very sorry."

**_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..._**

"I know, Ken." Mr. Shibata patted the young boy's shoulder comfortingly. "We've all been feeling your stress. We've noticed that it even affects your peers around you." He was pacing now, up and down the rows of desks, as if waiting to get to some point of his speech.

"I'm sorry." Ken repeated. "I don't know what it is. Nothing's been going off schedule; nothing new has been happening...I just feel like everything's packed up inside me and I can't get rid of it all."

"Which is why your parents and I feel you need a vacation." He suddenly turned to Ken and approached him eagerly.

"A vacation?" Ken almost wanted to laugh. "Sir, with all due respect, I have too much work to do. I'm so behind in so many of my classes that-"

"Your teachers are willing to excuse that if you take time off of your "schedule". It seems you going day to day working and straining, catching up on work has taken its toll. We're all concerned for your health, and feel like this could be the best thing for your over-worked mind. "

"Mister Shibata, I'm not completely defective! I know what I'm feeling, but I'm sure that some rest over the weekend should-"

"Ken, your parents have been telling me that your past few weekends have been restless and sleepless. You cannot deny yourself this opportunity." Mr. Shibata was now right in front of Ken, knelt down so he could be face to face with him.

Ken sat there, thwarted. He didn't want to leave Tokyo, much less his own home in Tamachi. The thought of having to pack, then sit for who knows how long until he reached his destination was enough to make him sag his head in exhaustion. And what would his friends say? He didn't want to leave them behind.

Ken, thinking of his friends, temporarily lost himself in his abandoned memories. He remembered all the times when they were there for him, even when they weren't friends, but arch enemies. They had saved him from darkness more than once, saved his life, his soul, and he could hardly remember any times when he had shown them the same courtesy. No, he couldn't go without his friends, the ones who'd never leave _him_ behind if their lives depended on it.

"...Ken? Ken...Are you still on this planet, my boy?"

Ken quickly snapped back into reality and stood up. "Mister Shibata, I can't go! I can't leave my friends behind! I can't leave Daisuke, Miyako, Takeru, or anyone else! I just won't do it! I just won't!"

_ **I won't do it, and you won't either, will you?**_

Mr. Shibata sighed and stood up. "Ken, have you not been listening to me at all this past minute?" He reached his hand down and slid open his top drawer, withdrawing a green envelope with Ken's name on it. In a quick movement of his hand, he slid it across the glossy surface of the desk toward the befuddled youth.

Ken took it and flipped it over. Slowly he opened it while Mr. Shibata watched him carefully. He took out six slips of paper and turned one over to read the writing.

In bold black ink it read: _Welcome! Here is your ticket to Woods of Kuro Majick! Here you will get a wonderful mixture of rest and relaxation at our #1 rated hotel, complete with pool and spa! And at night, when the mysterious moon is in the air, you can enjoy a wonderfully frightful evening tour through the Woods of Kuro Majick themselves while your guide gives you the heebie-jeebies with tales and truths about the forest! Bring your family! Bring your friends! Bring absolutely nobody as you rest, shiver, scream, and have the time of your life! _

"You, you, you got-"

"Six. I know. I believe you have five very valued friends, right?" Mr. Shibata grinned at Ken knowingly.

"But, but Sir, I don't quite-" Ken stammered, unable to say a simple word of gratitude.

"My boy, I _intended _for you to want to bring your friends. After all, our goal is to make sure you get all of your stressed relieved, and something told me it wouldn't happen if you didn't have your friends with you." The teacher chuckled and reclined in his chair.

"But, this must have been expensive. How did you afford it? Do I pay you back? Oh God, what will our parents say?" Questions exploded in Ken's mind faster than he could spill them out.

Mr. Shibata simply waved his hand, smiling. "I've already contacted their parents. They seemed very happy about it." Then Mr. Shibata produced an awkward face. "Peculiar parents, the one with goggles has. They seemed all to delighted to be rid of him. And as for the payment, your parents and your friends' parents each chipped in (No teacher is generous enough to spend hundreds of dollars for one student, you know!), so it's all settled, I think. The only thing remaining is for you to get packed and on your way."

Ken remained motionless for a few minutes, the little tickets clutched in his hands. Then it all finally sunk in. A vacation! A real vacation, a time away from everything, and _his friends were coming too!_ He leapt up and stretched across the desk to lock his arms around Mr. Shibata. "I don't know how to thank you, Mister Shibata! Thank you!"

"Eh, hold on a second, though, Ichijouji. You're not getting away without getting _some _education." Mr. Shibata then proceeded to bend down to his bottom desk drawer, pull it open, and withdraw six large books. "Your teachers requested that you indulge yourself to some of these."

Ken laughed shortly and took the volumes from his teacher's hands. "Now that I think about it, though," Ken said as they both left the class room, "I can't see why I didn't want to go in the first place. This place sounds so cool! A pool, a spa, a room to relax in, wonderful woods of terror!" Ken's eyes now shone like a five-year-old boy's.

"Now don't forget to read those books, Ken." warned Mr. Shibata, wiggling a stern finger in his direction. "You may be on a weeks worth of a vacation, but-"

"_A week's worth?!_" Ken's jaw dropped. "You're giving me _that _much time?!"  
"Well, yeah," Mr. Shibata scratched the back of his head. "How many days did you think we were going to give you? It takes more than a weekend to get rid of so much stress and whatever's on your mind."

Ken let out a heavy breath. "Well, thank you, Sir." And with that, Ken hurriedly walked down the hall to the lunch room, books in arms, with Mr. Shibata bidding him good luck...

Ah yes; Mister Shibata's little idea was what brought Ken to be stuck in the family van for ten hours with a migraine, five other kids, and two adults who couldn't agree on whether or not to open to map and find the right way. 

"Hey, what's that over there?" Miyako perked her head up to read a billboard to the left that was coming up rather quickly. "_Woods of Kuro Majick. Have the scariest time of your life. ten miles, next exit. _Alright! We're almost there!" She was now unconsciously strangling Daisuke while hugging him tightly in excitement. "We're gonna go to the Kuro woods! Gonna get off chores!" Daisuke's body lolled lifelessly around; his face was rather blue.

Hikari removed her headphones and peered around anxiously. "So, are we almost there?" she asked Ken curiously, titling her head in a cute manner. Obviously she hadn't paid attention to anything that had occurred in the past few minutes.

Ken smiled back at her. "Yup. Just ten more miles."

"I'm so excited!" she breathed happily. "I've always wanted to go to this place ever since it was made!"

"Yeah, I know," muttered Takeru unpleasantly. "This place is _all_ you ever talked about in school." He produced a funny face and returned to staring out the window. While he appeared uninterested, Ken could see his knees bobbing up and down rapidly in anticipation. 

"Well, just think of it as Hikari finally getting it out of her system, Takeru." Ken suggested good-humoredly, a broad grin on his face. 

"Gee, Ken, you sure seem happy about something." Iori noticed, still supporting himself on the back of Ken's seat.

"Yeah," Ken replied, "I don't know why; maybe it's because I'm finally gonna be able to rest for a while." He sighed and reclined backward, forcing Iori to sit back in his own seat. Although he voiced his discontentment, Ken hardly paid attention; he was too busy thinking about the _real _reason why he was suddenly so happy to be going there when he had been dreading the entire ride. 

While he was still unsure, he had a sensation as though he were going to meet someone he knew; someone long known yet almost forgotten; someone special. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh yeah! We're finally here!" Miyako sprang from the car as soon as it pulled up to a parking spot and came to a semi-complete stop. She jumped around, stretched her limbs in a comical manner, and twirled endlessly on her left foot, her arms outstretched to catch the cool breeze in the summer air. Then she proceeded to running -or more like staggering- all around the vast parking lot that was entirely surrounded by trees, except for the road that led in and out of the area.

Molly then opened her door and stepped out of the car, her straw hat protecting her from the afternoon sunlight. "Oh, Cal, it's so beautiful here." She gazed at the multitude of trees around her; an endless sea of green and gold. 

"So, this is the place, huh?" Cal stepped out and looked around, stretching his arms. "See, Molly? I told you we didn't need the map."

"Well, aren't we Mister Man today?" Molly retorted, sticking her nose into the air in displeasure.

Ken followed Takeru and Hikari out of the van after Daisuke and Iori, who were in the back. He too stared into the woods that were supposed to have some sort of spooky past about them. They certainly weren't life threatening at four in the afternoon, however; the golden glow of the sun turned each tree into a wonderland of light and life, as though the woods were made of gold themselves.

The moment was soon interrupted, however, when Daisuke made an abrupt statement. "Eh? What's that?" he pointed down the road of which they came from; a row of cars made their appearance and gradually found themselves in full view as they occupied the once empty parking lot. 

Before the others knew it, more children and parents were before them. The children were about their age and seemed to all come from the same school; they had the trademark of a green school uniform on. The girls wore the usual sailor skirt uniform where the emerald pleated skirts came down to their delicate knees, while the boys were dressed in jade long-sleeved buttoned shirts; there was apparently a rule where the boys could also wear whatever kind of pants they wanted. Many of them wore jeans while others chose slacks. 

"I guess we weren't the only ones who needed some stress relief." muttered Takeru, staring at all the children in their prestigious uniforms. 

Then a tall, slender woman with long ocean blue hair parted the young crowd with ease. She advanced toward Molly and Cal, more than likely wondering why they were all there.   
"Hello there," she said in a friendly manner, smiling lukewarmly at both of them. "I take it your children are not from our school. Why are you here then?" Her question turned icy.

Cal straightened himself up and cleared his voice. "We are here on other school businesses. We have permission to be here." His expression was aloof and he showed power of authority with his arms crossed.

With Cal being bigger and much taller than she was, the woman didn't dare question him further. She simply sighed loudly in protest and turned away. "Fine with me. Just keep your children away from the others. _We _are here on a special school field trip, earned by these hard-working young students." She proudly tossed her silky hair and strolled away swiftly, her high heels tapping fiercely on the pavement. "Come, children. Off to the hotel."

With a few of the students pointing and giggling at Ken and the others, they all proceeded to follow what must have been their teacher through the woods on the large concrete path.

The parents that were there were waving to their children, calling their names and telling them to enjoy themselves. "Have a great week, Chihiro!"

"Katsuyuki, call me when you get yourself all situated!"

"It's alright, Ichiro! Just keep walking and you'll be fine!"

The never-ending stream of names and blessings were enough to make Ken cover his ears in agony. Molly immediately suggested that they all follow the other children into the woods and toward the hotel. There were no protests to this. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was only when they were out of earshot of the adults did Ken feel it safe enough to remove his hands. He looked around, and felt a chill go down his spine. Now that they were pretty deep into the woods, Ken could begin to see why this forest was called "Woods of Kuro Majick"; they were in an area where the sun couldn't force its way through, and only darkness made its home.

Daisuke resorted to using his little key chain flashlight with a pink heart for a switch (it was Jun's) so that they could all still see the path before them. Ken was quickly able to sense unease in the air. Everyone was at least a little frightened of their surroundings. Their fears amplified once they realized an even worse predicament: They were lost. They had lost sight of the last child in green quite a while back, and with the help of the flashlight, they found about three different forks in the road.

Making the random combination of right, left, left, they had ended up right back to the first fork of which they started. Hikari noticed this because she recognized the two tree stumps on her left. 

"Well, that got us nowhere." Cal grumbled, using Daisuke's sister's flashlight, that was held between his thumb and index finger, to peer down the two separate paths. 

"I think we should just go back and look for a sign of some sort, dear. This isn't helping us any. We could end up being stuck here all night." Molly complained, seating herself on one of the stumps.

"Speaking of night," said Takeru, "Does anybody have a watch?"

"Yeah," answered Miyako. She looked at her wrist watch and pressed a tiny button on the side to light it up. "It's seven-nineteen..._huh?_" She checked her watch again. "We've been in here for over three hours!" 

"How can that be possible?" Iori asked, speaking up for the first time in a long while. "There's no way we could have been in here that long!"

"Well, it makes sense. Daisuke, here, was the one that brought us in circles for no reason, anyway. We probably lost track of time 'cause we all thought Genius over here knew where he was going." accused Miyako, turning away from Daisuke and folding her arms.

"What?! How is it _my _fault?!"

"_You're _the one who said 'Come on! Follow me! I know where we're going!' Give me a break! You're such a loser!" Now Miyako was strutting around in a rude imitation of the maroon haired goggle head.

"Great, now I've got two Jun's in my life..." snarled Daisuke.

"Will the two of you just shut up already?" Takeru barked irritably.

While the others conversed and argued with one another, Ken felt himself pull away. He slowly walked toward the two forks and stood, not really looking at anything, just listening. He knew he could hear it, the voice; that small voice, right there in the back of his mind.

_"Ken...Ken, why don't you talk to me? I've...missed you so much..." _

"What?" Ken whispered so silently, as though talking to himself. "What do you want? I'm here." It was like a replay scene in Ken's mind; though the image was slightly blurred, Ken could make out two boys standing together at a very familiar splitting path, the one Ken was standing at now. They seemed to be discussing something, perhaps they were lost? It wasn't long until he was staring down darkness again in his current predicament, though, for the image had faded away.

_"Why don't you come to me? Please..." _

Ken gradually lifted his hands to his ears to hear more, his eyes shut to block out everything else around him. "Where are you?" Then Ken felt it; something landed on his shoulder. He turned his head and let his eyes slide open to see a pale hand right next to his face. For moments nothing happened; Ken was too stunned to move, and the white hand was motionless. However...

_"Look at me. Why don't you look? I've missed you...Come to me." _The hand then curled its fingers into a grip, a grip so tight that it made Ken mouth words of agony. Alarm coursed through him as all his senses were triggered. He swung around quickly, but there was nothing to see, no person or hand. 

Ken only saw his friends and parents bickering and whining. He groaned in disgust; how could Miyako cause such devastation with just one insult? Thinking of the ringleader, upon closer inspection Ken observed in terror that Miyako was not among the others. The encounter with the hand was wiped clear from his memory at that moment.

"Hey!" Ken screamed, quickly receiving everyone's undivided attention. "Where's Miyako?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Stupid Daisuke, getting us all lost like this. Who does he think he is?" Her lavender hair billowing behind her, Miyako stormed through the woods, sniffling loudly as tears slid down her cheeks. She stared at her feet the whole time, not willing to look at what laid ahead of her. "This just isn't fair! Why do _I _have to deal with this? Stupid Daisuke..." she repeated.

Hearing the distant sound of howling somewhere around her in the dark, endless woods, Miyako came to a halt and looked up and about frantically. Her spine tingled with apprehension, and more tears spilled out of her eyes. "This is so stupid," she breathed, hardly able to speak through the crying and tears, "Why did I have to leave the others? Where am I? Someone, help me..."

_"The darkness is coming...Oh God, the darkness is coming. Someone, help me..." _Miyako was startled to hear a woman's words of terror out of the silence. Stumbling blindly, she pressed herself aimlessly forward, searching all around for the voice. No matter where she went, however, the voice was getting closer, and louder. Soon the sound of stumbling and crunching on the dry leaves that littered the ground could be heard, and they didn't belong to Miyako. 

_Crunch, _Miyako snapped her head to the left. Closer the sound was coming. Only now it sounded like scraping and crawling as apposed to the quick staggering of before. _"Oh God, it's coming...The darkness..." _Miyako screamed loudly and tried to run; that voice couldn't have been more than five feet away, but there was no one in sight. 

Although she _wanted_ to run or cry for help, Miyako's legs refused to move, and her voice could hardly work. Realizing her helplessness against the dark, frightful forest, even the evil that approached her, she began to bawl loudly on the spot. Her hands were becoming drenched in the pool of tears triggered by fear. "Please...I don't want to die."

A pair of quick hands latched on to Miyako's shoulders and she shrieked with all her voice. "Agh! Get away from me!" she screamed, dropping to the ground and flailing her limbs wildly.

"No, please don't scream. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." a frantic voice sounded above her.

"Huh?" Miyako stopped her wild movement and actually took a moment to look up. A slender figure knelt down to come face to face with her. She recognized the short blue hair instantly. "Ken? What are you doing here? Oh, thank God, you found me!" She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I was so scared," she whispered.

She felt his hands gradually place themselves gently on her shoulder blades. He held her comfortingly. "It's alright." he said softly, in a voice that Miyako did not recognize.

She gasped and pushed him away quickly. "God, you're _not _Ken!" She stood up quickly and stared down at the perplexed boy on the ground. Miyako watched as he stood up unsteadily.

Then he brushed himself off and bowed respectfully. "No, my name's Ichiro. I'm sorry to alarm you. I really, truly didn't mean to frighten you." He then looked at her with a concerned, even frightened expression. "I heard crying and went to see what was wrong."

Miyako noticed his warm smile toward her and stared with even more wonder. "You could be his twin." She apparently didn't noticed Ichiro's discomfort as she circled him, bringing every detail to her mouth. "Your hair, your face, even your height...almost. Just your voice is different."

"I'm sorry?" he repeated. "Who are you talking about...?"

"Oh, it's nothing." she said immediately, turning around and trying to wipe her face. "I guess I'm just in shock. I'm a little lost and-"

"I wouldn't say you're a 'little' lost." he responded quickly. He walked in front of Miyako and faced her. "You must be about twenty or meters off the path. Why are you out here?" Unhesitant, he brought his hand up and gently wiped her tears away, his smile still on his pretty face.

Miyako instantly found herself gone in Ichiro. His touch was so gentle, and his voice, what a silvery voice; much softer than that of the boy of whom she confused him with. She was lost in his spell, his delicate charm. But how, and why so soon? She didn't care. _He _was the one who had rescued her from the fear and the darkness that had sought to consume her soul and wits.

Miyako wanted to lean into Ichiro so that he may comfort her some more. That was all she wanted. But then-

"Why are you out here?" Ichiro's repeated phrase brought her back into reality.

She stared at him for a long moment, then finally asked, "Will you help me? I wanna find my friends, please." Her voice was so desperate that she thought she saw a concerned look spread on his face.

Ichiro laughed kindly and nodded. "Sure, I'll help you find your friends. I can't just leave you out here all alone."

"Thank you, Ichiro," She bowed very slightly both in appreciation and apology. Upon very close inspection, she noticed the dark shade of his shirt, which looked like it could be green. "Oh, are you from that school?" She looked back at his face and waited for a response.

He nodded. "Yep." Then he turned and began scanning the grounds. "I thought I heard shouts from over there, east." He pointed. "That was before I found you."

"Really?" Miyako gazed at him intently. When he nodded she almost leapt into the air. "Alright! This is so great! And Ichiro, when we meet back up with my friends, you can lead us to your classmates and we can call head to the hotel, right?"

He nodded once again. "I'll lead the way, okay? Don't worry, we'll find your friends." Slowly he walked eastward with Miyako right behind him, almost next to him. While hiking, Miyako decided to make more observations of Ken's look-alike:

He couldn't be taller than her or Ken, and his hair cut was the exact same, all except for the part in his bangs. Ichiro's was on the left -well, it would be on the right if one was looking directly at him- while Ken's part was on the right -it would be left if one was looking directly at him. There was one other difference that Miyako didn't immediately recognize, though. Ichiro had a slight limp in his walk, as though he were wounded.

"Are you okay?" she asked, looking at him with concern.

"I'm fine." he answered good-naturedly. "Are _you_ alright?"

"Um, yeah, I was just wondering about your legs. Why are you limping?"

"Oh," he laughed softly. "It's kind of a long story. I fell once, and-"

"Yo, Miyako! Is that you?! Are you alright?!" Both Ichiro and Miyako snapped their heads forward to see a small light and a figure waving madly at them.

"Daisuke," she muttered. She signaled for Ichiro, who was now behind her, to follow. She ran forward to the crowd of kids who were waiting for her. "I'm right here, guys!"

Miyako was practically smothered in attention. Everyone demanded to know where she had run off to; Ken's mother was bursting in tears, not letting her out of her arms. Ichiro hung back, smiling at the scene. How cute it was.

The hair on the back of Ken's neck stood on end, and it wasn't long until his attention was turned to the boy in the background. They stared at each other through the dark for long moments. Ken was in total awe at his look-alike before him. The silent introduction went unnoticed to the noisy crowd of the others as Ichiro kindly nodded a greeting to Ken; his eyes not leaving Ichiro's Ken nodded back.

It was like a static replay in Ken's mind. He was sure he knew the boy, but that was absurd. He never knew a look-alike of himself before. He'd hardly ever knew anyone with blue hair like his before, let alone _this _particular person. With all of that forgotten, however, it was like there was some form of connection between him and the more delicate-looking boy before him. 

Ken to a step forward and simply had to ask: "Who are you?"

"Huh?" Miyako turned away from her friends to see what Ken was goggling at. "Oh, everyone, this is the person who practically saved me." She lunged forth and grabbed Ichiro's arm. She pulled him hard and, as a result, Ichiro fell forward onto the ground. Everyone heard him grunt in pain. "Oh, Ichiro! I'm _so_ sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" Miyako panicked, watching Ichiro make several attempts to stand up.

He managed to collect himself off the ground and laughed in an effort to shake off the air of worry. "I'm alright." he said with his hand behind his head. "I guess I'm just not built for strength."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you _absolutely _sure you're alright, dear? That fall looked pretty harsh." Molly fussed over Ichiro, brushing him off and repeatedly asking him if he was in good health.

The boy nodded vigorously, which seemed to be his favorite response to most things. It seemed like if he could avoid it, Ichiro wouldn't speak much. He did, however, periodically look behind him and spot Ken. Then he'd smile and walk on ahead.

"If you ask me," Daisuke whispered while Ken and Takeru put their heads together with him, "there's something up with this guy. I mean, look at him! The girls are all fussing over him, just because he fell over! Hmm..." he stared at Ichiro with nothing less than suspicion and jealousy. 

Takeru snorted. "I bet the whole limping thing is just a little gag to get the girls, too." He laughed, however, so Ken could tell that he was simply joking around.

"Have you noticed that he also kinda limps like a girl? Shaped like one, too. I can see a little bit of a pinched in waist! Right there!" Daisuke felt the need to point at the totally oblivious Ichiro's torso from behind, which, in fact, _was _slightly pinched in.

Ken gawked at Daisuke. "Are you implying that _I _am shaped like a girl?!"

He had evidently spoken too loud; the entire group ceased movement and stared at Ken. "Where'd _that _come from?" Hikari asked, just as befuddled as the others.

Ken laughed nervously. "Eheh...So-Ichiro, do you know exactly where your group would be?"

Ichiro looked onward. "N-no. To be honest, I lost sight of them about a half an hour before I ran into Miyako."

"_WHAT?!_" Simultaneous voices erupted. "You mean you don't know where we are?!" Cal exploded in front of Ichiro's face. Ichiro took a step back and stumbled in the process.

"No, no! I mean-yes! I _do _know where we're going." he said hastily. "I _have _been here before, a couple of years ago. I was with my parents then. You don't forget these kind of places."

"Oh," Hikari sighed and wiped her forehead. "You should tell us these things ahead of time...wait a second...you said you were here a couple of years ago? That's not possible! This place wasn't built until just recently!"

"My parents and I would come to these woods all the time, _before _it was turned into a hotel resort, Hikari." Ichiro corrected her misunderstanding in a gentle way, but it still made her feel very guilty about accusing him of lying.

Suddenly, Iori burst out in a yell and pointed ahead. "Oh! What's that? Do you see that? See the light?" Down the path and behind the trees the group could see a dim white light, easily noticeable, despite the overwhelming darkness.

"That's the hotel entrance light," Ichiro informed them all, his arms criss-crossed in a supporting way. "We're here at last, everyone."

Miyako leapt into the air. "_YES!_ Finally I can rest and relax and take a shower!"

"God, I hope so." Daisuke muttered so low that Ken could hardly hear him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The hotel was lovelier than Ken had imagined; the lobby itself was beautifully furnished, mainly in dark red, and the ceiling was higher than three stories of Ken's apartment building. Marble pillars lined all around the lobby entrance, welcoming the group from their long, hard journey through the woods. 

Ken, just like his friends, was shown to his room, but not before he said goodbye to his parents. They weren't invited and therefore had to leave, but with an escort to guide them this time.

"Goodbye, dear, and don't forget to get plenty of rest tonight. Listen to the nice hotel people. They seem to know what they're doing." Ken's mother rambled on for several minutes about behaving himself, then, when Cal gave her a look that read "Let's go already", she gave him a kiss and left with her husband.

Ken was then led down a long hallway to his room. The guide didn't seem too interested in conversation with a kid, so Ken kept quiet. They came to a halt at room 132, and the hotel employee pulled out a card key and stuck it into the card reader near the door handle. It's little light turned green and the door unlocked, permitting Ken to enter. 

The young man at the door promptly handed Ken his key and left. Evidently, working in such a nice hotel like this, one would get rather stingy about their job. Ken forgot about this and set his bags on the large bed right in front of him. Looking around, Ken concluded that this hotel's theme seemed to be dark red. Dark red chairs, dark red drapes, dark red bedding, even dark red shower curtains. It wasn't as if it weren't all lovely, but so much red could make one rather uncomfortable.

A nice hot shower, clean pajamas, and a glass of milk later, though, Ken felt right at home in his very own room. Feeling silly, but having the sudden urge, Ken flopped down backwards onto the large bed; it was so soft and squashy that he had a hard time pushing himself back up. Soon, however, his eyes grew heavy and Ken knew it was time for sleep, knowing he had a full day ahead of him. 

Flicking off the lights, engulfing the entire room in blackness, Ken stumbled to his bed and pulled back the blankets, ready to slip underneath the warm, soft covers and sink into a pleasant sleep. Like a rush of wind, a chill went up Ken's spine and he shivered. It was as if the room temperature had plunged to freezing, and it was an unnatural feeling. Ken didn't need to hear the sudden slow, silent sound of wheezing to know that now he wasn't the only one in the room.

Then, just as last time, Ken heard the sound of a voice, but this time, it was no whisper. _"Ken, don't leave me behind. Kenji, come...Quit leaving me behind. Don't you understand?!"_

Ken felt sudden terror rise to his throat, disabling his ability to speak. This person, this boy who was speaking to him was beginning to sound threatening. And that wasn't all. The temperature dropped even more, enabling Ken's adjusted eyes to see his own breath in front of him. Slowly, for this was as fast as his legs would allow, Ken turned around.

His own heartbeat could be heard loud and clear as Ken scanned the room. The wide open door to the bathroom, the door out of the room, the closet...there were no signs of any other person in the room. _"Kenji," _the voice called in a low tone of warning. _"Are you going to find me, or do _I _have to find _you_?" _

Just the very way it was said caused Ken to pant for air. He gripped his chest in pain from his own heartbeat. Then, like a sludge hammer, something hit Ken's senses and his head snapped toward the closet door. There, in that region of the room, the aura that was given off seemed particularly black. _No, not the closet, _Ken begged in his mind. In his dreams and childhood fantasies he had often had nightmares about monsters and horrible beings hiding in the closet.

Picking up one of his school books for defense, Ken, his legs shaking numbly every few seconds, approached the closet door. _Come, on. Nobody be there, please, _Ken's mind raced repeatedly. He stopped directly in front of the darkened closet and put his ear to the door. He could barely hear the faint sound of wheezing from before. Now he wanted to cry; something _was _waiting for him in his closet.

_"Kenji," _the voice moaned from the other side of the door, in an almost longing manner. _"I can almost feel you, your warmth, even though your heart is so cold. Are you going to find me?" _

Ken instinctively took a step back; it was waiting for him! However, his arm was disobeying his mind, and it lurched forward and grabbed the handle. Slowly, _very _slowly, Ken pulled and slid the door open inch by tiny inch. He used both hands to control how far the door would slide, the book seemed forgotten in his hands. Then, sliding just a little bit more than an inch, Ken saw it: a pale, white hand, and a fraction of a person's body.

The little that Ken could make out was what must have been a white kimono, and a long crimson cord tied to it. Then Ken could hear the voice of the body before him. It was in only a whisper, and Ken had to strain his ears at first..._"Kenji...YOU'VE FOUND ME!" _ The hand shot out and grasped Ken's arm. He cried out in total alarm and tried to pull away, but the person was too strong. _"You won't leave me behind again, right? You'll stay with me!" _

"No! Let me go!" Ken shrieked, still tugging with all his might. It was no use; whoever it was was trying to drag him into the closet, and Ken couldn't do anything to stop him. Then he noticed the person's other hand grab the door and began to slide it open. "_Stop it!_" he screamed, looking the other way and continuing to resist.

"Ken? Ken?! Are you okay? Open the door!" Ken heard a person's voice outside his room, and in the next instant found himself falling to the floor with a hard _thud!_ He looked up and stared into the closet to find that the person dragging him in was gone.

Unwilling to recover from his shock, he picked up his book, ran to the door, and opened it quickly, the volume raised in case something else was after him. "_Ichiro!_" Ken stared in disbelief. Needless to say, Ken frightened Ichiro quite a bit by the wide-eyed shocked look in his face, and his book raised in his hand like a lunatic.

"What happened?" Ichiro asked sensibly, entering the dark room. "I heard you down the hallway. Are you alright?"

Ken flicked on the light, accidentally blinding himself, and staggered over to his bed and sat down. "Yeah, it's just..." he looked over at Ichiro who limped toward him and took a seat next to him. He saw the look of utter concern on the other boy's face and felt jealousy stab at him. Ken knew _he _never looked that good when he was worried.

"What is it?" Ichiro asked.

"Well-Ichiro, do you think this hotel is haunted?" Ken saw Ichiro's face go blank for a second. He almost wanted to laugh.

"Haunted?" He shifted his knees uncomfortably. "I've only heard that the _woods_ were haunted, or something like that. I've never heard accounts when someone was visited by a ghost in the hotel, though."

"I see..." Ken muttered, staring at the ground. "I guess I've just gone and lost it here, then."

"What makes you say that?" Ichiro stared at Ken intently, his violet eyes penetrating Ken's mind.

At first he didn't answer, but just stared around aimlessly. Then he sighed, looked at Ichiro and said: "Something, or some_one _just came out of my closet and grabbed me! And before that he was talking threats to me! The room got so cold and it all felt so real, it _couldn't _have been a dream, and I know I'm not insane!" Words and descriptions of what happened began flying out of Ken's mouth, up until he got to the point where the person was calling his name.

"He was calling me by "Ken" at first, but then he started addressing me as "Kenji". He kept saying something about being left behind, but I don't know what to make of it!" Stopping to catch his breath, he watched Ichiro with worried eyes, wondering what he was thinking. Did he think he was totally insane now?

"Hmm, Kenji...second child. That's what it means." Ichiro pondered, muttering a few words now and then, but nothing that Ken could make out. Then he sighed and looked at Ken. "I don't think you're insane, Ken. In fact, I think this could be the start of something bad." He put his hand to his heart. "I could feel it right here, ever since I came back." 

"So, what exactly are you saying?" Ken asked, watching Ichiro with a kind of fascination and fear mixed together.

"That you and I, and even your friends are going to have to be careful while we're here." Then he looked up and stared at the ceiling. "Something's calling us."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ken awoke the next morning (after taking a few sleeping pills last night) to bright sunlight that shone through the windows next to his bed. He dressed and managed to find his way to the dining area of the hotel. Since it was later in the morning, (ten thirty, to be precise) there weren't that many other children there. The few that were seated at the tables were either stuffing their faces with the last bit of breakfast, or simply chatting away with their friends.

Ken spotted his own friends at a table in the back. He sauntered up to them and was about to say good morning when Miyako leapt in his face. "Good morning, Ichiro!" she sang, her hands clasped together.

Ken laughed. "Wrong one, Miyako. This one is Ken."

He noticed, with a ping of jealousy that Miyako's face fell. "Aw, man..." 

Ken straightened himself up indignantly. "Well, good morning to you, too!" he snapped sarcastically.

"Don't take it personally, Ken," Takeru told him, hiding back fits of giggles.

"Yeah, Miyako's been like this ever since last night. She's even practiced setting up her gaga eyes just for him." Daisuke informed through a mouthful of pancakes. Ken winced at the sight.

"Speaking of Ichiro, where is your twin, Ken?" Hikari asked, giggling at her own question. 

Ken, getting tired of hearing comments on the close resemblance between him and the other one, simply shrugged. "I dunno. I expect he'd be outside." Thinking about Ichiro suddenly sparked a need to see him again. Ken stood up and bid his friends farewell.

Ken walked outside through the glass doors near the dining area and into the courtyard and to the bright radiance of the sun. He was forced to shield his eyes until they adjusted properly. Squinting, he scanned the garden grounds until he came upon a sapphire-haired person in the distance; Ichiro, who was seated on a bench. Glad to find his friend, Ken darted toward him.

"Ichiro! I'm glad you're out here. How are you doing, huh?" Ken laughed in a friendly manner. He ceased his gleeful approach, however, when he hear sniffling and saw Ichiro's shoulders shaking a little. "Ichiro, what's wrong?"

The other boy looked up and hastily wiped his tears away. "I-It's nothing," he assured quickly. "It's just the sun. It's, uh, It's rays kinda make my eyes water, you know?"

His lie came to an end pretty fast as two boys passed them. "Hey! Yo, Gimpy Legs! Think you can find a buddy for the Ghost Tour, or what?"

"Dude, don't talk to him about it," the other boy budded in. "He might end up asking you. You know nobody wants Ichiro as their buddy; him and his lame leg. They'll be stuck way in the back with him. You're only encouraging him by talking to him like that."

Ken stared after them in disbelief; how could anyone be so cruel? He turned back to his friend. "Ichiro..." he began, not quite sure what to say next.

"They're right, you know," Ichiro said, standing up, causing his body to sway unsteadily. "Who wants to be partners with an invalid?" Not looking back, Ichiro walked as best as he could into the building.

Ken found him later in the lounging room, and Ichiro apologized emphatically about his behavior. Ken waved it off and sat down next to him. "Hey, Ichiro, about that Ghost Tour thing...Have you found a partner yet?" Ichiro shook his head and turned away. "Alright, well, I was wondering if...maybe, if you weren't doing anything else tonight...maybe you could be my partner? I mean, Daisuke's with Iori, Miyako took Hikari, and Takeru has his eyes on one of the girls from your school..."

Ichiro spun around, his misty blue eyes held incredulity and uncertainty. "You mean it? You really want _me _to be your partner for the tour?" At first Ken thought Ichiro was going to bawl. It must be rare that Ichiro was ever picked as a partner to anyone; it was almost sad. Ichiro was barely an inch away from him. Slowly Ken nodded and Ichiro thrusted forward and wrapped his arms around Ken. "Thank you so much! I've never been willingly picked as a partner before in anything! Thank you, Ken!"

Ken was caught completely off guard by this. He would have fallen over, had he the constitution of Ichiro. Ken hadn't really ever been hugged by another boy before, and being smothered by his look-alike was almost too much. Realizing that a handful of people had stopped walking and were staring at them, Ken grabbed Ichiro's shoulders and wrenched him off.

"It's not a problem for me, Ichiro, really. In fact, I'd really enjoy it if you came with me. The more company, the better; this is especially true on a ghost tour." And with that, Ken stood up, told Ichiro he'd see meet him at the courtyard exit with the others for the Ghost Tour at seven, and toddled off toward his room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright, kiddies! Listen up now! As most of you know, I am Miss Gyota, and will be your tour guide through these woods of terror!" A large, gruff-looking woman was at the gates where Ken was searching for Ichiro. "As you all _should _know, you need to have a partner in order to participate! This is mainly so that if one of you gets lost, your friend can tell us so that we find you before the wolves rip your flesh off! You will stay with the entire group, and will _always _follow me!

"If, for any reason you turd balls can't follow that, I'll send both you and your partner back to the hotel! Are there any questions?" No one spoke, but this could have been due to the terror that Miss Gyota invoked upon all of them. "Alright, then! Follow me!" She blew a shrill, ear piercing whistle and the gates slowly opened to reveal the dark woods; the Woods of Kuro Majick, where spooky things were supposed to happen.

"Hey, Ken," Ken felt a slight tap on his shoulder and looked behind him. 

"Hey, Ichiro," he said, waving. "Glad you could make it. Here I thought I was gonna have to stay behind."

"I'm sorry about that," Ichiro apologized. He tapped his right leg. "My leg's been giving me more problems than usual today. It took me a while to get here."

"It's no problem." Ken smiled, then turned back to the front to realize that everyone was leaving them behind. "Ah! Wait for us!" both of them took off after the group, Ichiro limping as fast as his leg would permit. They raced deep into the woods after their group, Ken way in the lead, and Ichiro staggering behind.

Just as they both caught up with the group, the large woman cleared her throat and came to a halt. "Everyone, I want you all to notice this trail right here next to me that leads off the path. It is said that down this path leads to where "The Lost Village" lies, or, more like laid." her voice tone went down and became more ominous. "They say that in one night, the night of their usual ceremony, the entire town _and _its inhabitants disappeared. There is also talk about a brutal massacre that occurred when everyone in the town was killed. Now, no one knows exactly what happened..." 

Ken's attention was averted by Ichiro, who was staring down the trail as if wanting to follow it. However, he managed to hear that Miss Gyota carefully told them _not _to go anywhere near it. 

"Alright, let's move on! Everyone, since it's getting too dark, I want you each to grab the hand of your partner! This is for safety purposes, so just do it, alright? Hey, don't you roll your eyes at me, boy!" She pointed at a young lad in the group who sighed rudely and crossed his arms.

There were many squeals and groans from the group. Ken even heard one of the boys in front him mutter "This is so damn stupid. And this just doesn't feel right!" to his friend. Ken grinned. Those two were the ones who had made fun of Ichiro, so Ken took great delight in seeing their humiliated faces. 

Ken reached his had to his right to grasp Ichiro's, but he didn't feel it. Alarmed, Ken looked around and found Ichiro staggering up the small trail that they were specifically told _not _to follow! Upon closer inspection, Ken realized he was following something; two red little balls-no, not balls, little red butterflies, and _they were glowing! _Butterflies don't glow!

"Ichiro!" he hissed, not wanting to catch the attention on Miss Gyota. No response; Ichiro seemed to be in total wonder of the butterflies in front of him, leading him away from the others.

By now the rest of the group was starting ahead. Ken had to make himself heard. "Wait a minute!" Ken called. "Stop! Ichiro's gone!" There was no answer, except Iori and Daisuke turned to see who was yelling. Then they signaled Hikari, Miyako, and Takeru, and the five of them went to see what the trouble was. "Ichiro went up the path! We have to go after him!"

"No, we have to go get Miss Gyota. I'm sure she can help!" Hikari argued.

"_Hello!_" Miyako flapped her arms frantically. "She's about a hundred yards away! We don't know what could have happened to Ichiro by then! There's not enough time!"

"Ugh! This is getting us nowhere! I'm off!" Ken yelled in frustration and dashed up the trail to find Ichiro.

"Ken, wait! What are you doing?!" Daisuke bellowed, charging after him.

"I have to find him!" Ken shouted, not looking back, but continuing to run. "He's too fragile to be on his own! He'll get himself hurt!"

"Wait, Ken!" Miyako hollered. "We don't want to see _you _get hurt! We're coming with you!" With that, the rest of the group rushed to catch up with both Ken and Daisuke.

At the pace they were going through the dark, hindering woods, it wasn't long until Ken spotted an opening. Once through the clearing, Ken noticed about five torches dotted around, and a fire place in the center, it's fire burning brightly with a sense of freshness as though it were just lit. Still panting, Ken gazed around in wonder as to why this was all there; it was like a campsite. 

Then Ken saw Ichiro, standing near the edge of the campsite, apparently staring at something down below. Ken slowly approached Ichiro and was about to reach his hand out to touch his shoulder, but then he saw it, what Ichiro was looking at. Down below them were many houses and small buildings. A village, but there wasn't a single light to be seen.

It was as if the village was dead, long diminished. The only thing that was alive there was the billowing wind that made Ken shiver. Why was all this out here? And who lit these lights? The torches looked old, very old; no one in their right mind would be using them anymore.

Then Ichiro turned around and faced him. He smiled faintly. "Ken..." But then his eyes rolled and he collapsed. Ken stooped quickly and caught him, and lowered himself to the ground.

"Ichiro! Are you alright?!" Ken urged, shaking him gently. "Hey, wake up! Ichiro!"

Ichiro groaned and lifted his head up. He stared up at Ken for long moments with eyes of weariness. Then he leaned in and whispered in Ken's ear: "The Lost Village." 


End file.
